Strikes

Thousands Strike Across Puerto Rico Demanding End to PROMESA, Austerity, and Privatization in National Day of Action

| Importance: 9/10

On February 18, 2022, thousands of publicly-employed union workers, retirees, and university students participated in a national strike and march that spread throughout Puerto Rico, with the largest contingent filling streets in San Juan. Demonstrators marched behind a banner declaring ‘People …

Puerto Rican Workers' Union Central Workers' Federation United Auto Workers Electrical Workers' Union Puerto Rico Teachers' Unions +1 more puerto-rico labor-organizing strikes promesa austerity +5 more
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Largest Strike Wave in U.S. History Begins as 5 Million Workers Walk Out

| Importance: 8/10

Over five million American workers engage in strikes in the year after V-J Day - the largest strike wave in U.S. history and the closest thing to a national general strike of the 20th century. Workers demand wages to match 16% inflation while their pay rises only 7%. Major strikes include 750,000 …

United Auto Workers United Mine Workers United Steel Workers Walter Reuther John L. Lewis +1 more labor-organizing strikes corporate-power postwar-economy union-rights
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General Motors Capitulates to UAW After 44-Day Flint Sit-Down Strike, Recognizing Union in Historic Labor Victory

| Importance: 10/10

On February 11, 1937, General Motors—the world’s largest industrial corporation—capitulates to the UAW after 44 days of sit-down strikes, signing a one-page agreement that recognizes the United Auto Workers as exclusive bargaining representative for union members for six months and …

United Auto Workers General Motors Alfred Sloan Jr. William Knudsen Fisher Body workers +2 more labor-rights strikes sit-down-strikes uaw general-motors +2 more
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Battle of the Running Bulls - Flint Police and GM Security Forces Attack Sit-Down Strikers with Tear Gas and Gunfire

| Importance: 8/10

On January 11, 1937, Flint police and General Motors security forces launch a violent assault on UAW strikers occupying Fisher Body Plant Number 2, attacking with tear gas canisters and live ammunition in an attempt to break the 12-day sit-down strike. The “Battle of the Running …

United Auto Workers Flint Police Department General Motors security forces Fisher Body Plant 2 strikers Bob Travis +2 more labor-rights police-violence strikes sit-down-strikes uaw +2 more
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UAW Autoworkers Launch Historic Flint Sit-Down Strike Against General Motors, Occupying Fisher Body Plants

| Importance: 9/10

At 8:00 p.m. on December 30, 1936, UAW autoworkers occupy General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One in Flint, Michigan, launching one of the most significant labor actions in American history—a 44-day sit-down strike that transforms the fledgling United Auto Workers from a collection of isolated …

United Auto Workers General Motors Fisher Body workers Bob Travis Walter Reuther +4 more labor-rights strikes sit-down-strikes uaw general-motors +2 more
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